Eleanor Deeley, Joint Managing Director of the Deeley Group, has been presented with the prestigious ‘Freeths Woman with Edge’ award, at the highly-regarded Women of the Year Luncheon and Awards 2023.
Sponsored by leading law firm Freeths LLP, the Woman with Edge award celebrates a courageous female business leader who has challenged the status quo to drive significant changes in their industry. The judges recognised Eleanor’s dedication and tireless work to create more access and openness in business, and encourage more diversity in an industry that is currently male-dominated.
An award-winning construction and property development company, The Deeley Group is a third-generation family business based in Coventry. Eleanor’s life in the construction industry started as a child, when she would spend Saturday mornings at the old Deeley offices with her grandfather George Deeley, who founded the business in 1936. The Deeley Group delivers developments across multiple sectors which include healthcare, residential commercial, education and retail. The firm includes three main divisions; Homes, Construction and Developments.
Being able to improve lives through regeneration and innovation is described by Eleanor as one of her biggest achievements. Over the past three years Eleanor and her team have delivered 236 affordable and market sale homes, 718 care & extra care beds, and 74,723 sq. ft educational space in addition to the commercial space providing jobs for local communities.
At the Deeley Group, Eleanor is involved in everything from branding to project delivery and generating new business, whilst developing partnerships with clients.
As the Joint Director, Eleanor cares for much more than the financial growth of the business. She is passionate about enabling team members to fulfil their potential in an industry which has a vast array of opportunities but yet lacks diversity. Within the business, Eleanor has introduced the ‘Make Work Better’ working group which is committed to increasing the diversity of the workforce, focused on creating an inclusive culture, while also being committed to the mental health and wellbeing of all employees.
Significantly, the Deeley Group also joined The 5% Club initiative in 2018 to monitor its pledge to provide opportunities for young people – currently, 12% of the workforce are apprentices, graduates, trainees or completing Further Education courses. A passionate advocate of the construction and property industry as a worthwhile career, Eleanor supports this further by speaking at numerous events and local schools, sharing an insight into her career path in the industry which can act as a reference point for young people.
Eleanor is a Non-Executive Director for East Midlands Development Company, a Commissioner for Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and is on the AAPG’s Advisory Board for Housing Market & Housing Delivery. She is also a Trustee for the University Hospitals Coventry and a National Federation of Builders member and panel member (Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction).
The anticipated Women of the Year Luncheon and Awards, which took place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole on Friday 13 October, was a significant celebration of achievement, promoting positive female role models who provide inspiration across all areas of society and the business community.
Hosted by broadcaster and entrepreneur Arti Halai, the glittering event was attended by British television actress and WOTY president Sally Lindsay who addressed the audience and said: “One of the reasons I first agreed to become a part of the awards is because of what WOTY do; they put the ladder down for others and that’s so important to me. From the day I became involved, I have seen women supporting women in this room, passing cards around, making networks and making friends and it’s such an inspiration. Many of our winners and alumni are those introduced to the awards by winners before them, and that continues today with some of our finalists having been encouraged by our directors and ambassadors who felt like it was time for them to shine.”
To find out more about the Women of the Year Luncheon and Award: https://www.womenoftheyear.org.uk/